AINTREE NOTEBOOK: Harrington swaps golf course for racecourse and £280,000 bet on Constitution Hill

Padraig Harrington enjoyed being on a different kind of course on Thursday, as he accompanied JP McManus on to the winner’s podium following Zenta’s thrilling win in the Juvenile Hurdle.

Harrington had backed the 5-4 favourite and while it would be stretching things to say he was smiling as broadly as when he won his second Open 15 miles down the road at Royal Birkdale in 2008, he was certainly enjoying himself.

The former Ryder Cup captain, who will be backing one of McManus’s five runners in the Randox Grand National, will be at Aintree on Friday and Saturday but he has no intention of taking in a quick nine holes before racing starts.

‘Not at all,’ he said.

‘No golf this week. I’m here to enjoy myself.’

£280,000 bet on Constitution Hill

Not everything was flawless with Constitution Hill. 

The winning rug that was placed over him had the six-year-old down as the winner of the ‘William Hill Handicap Steeplechase’ rather than the Aintree Hurdle. 

Fences will beckon for this megastar, who was the subject of a staggering £280,000 bet at 1-10. 

The rug, it is safe to say, will not go to waste. 

Mark of respect

April 15 can never pass in Liverpool without thoughts turning to 1989. 

To mark the 34th anniversary of Hillsborough, a minute’s applause will be held at Aintree on Saturday in respect of the 97 who perished in Sheffield. 

O’Brien’s dream turns sour

Spare a thought for David O’Brien. 

The 58-year-old fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition when riding in the Foxhunters but he was unseated from his horse, Rewritetherules, just before Becher’s Brook. 

O’Brien bought the nine-year-old from Shark Hanlon in Ireland specifically for the race. 

He trains him and even drove the horsebox to Aintree.